Author Archives: Marit Ruge Bjærke

New documentary on suburban gardens and the Anthropocene

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How is your garden related to the Anthropocene? This rather large question is the starting point for the documentary “Paradisets bakside” (Shadow of Paradise), now available with both Norwegian and English subtitles on VitenTV. The documentary is based on research findings from Gardening the globe. Through domestic, suburban gardening, it explores the emergence of the Anthropocene as e.g. transnational processes of moving nature, eradication as part of the everyday life in gardens, contemporary gardens as Continue reading New documentary on suburban gardens and the Anthropocene→

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Moving nature in the Nordic countries

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In June, Kyrre, Frida and Marit from Gardening the Globe hosted a panel entitled Moving nature in the Nordic countries and beyond at the 36th Nordic Ethnology and Folklore Conference. The background for the panel was how the transport of plants, animals, minerals, and other natural substances has played an important part in creating present day environmental problems such as climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. In this sense, we might say that moving nature characterizes Continue reading Moving nature in the Nordic countries→

Panel conversation on cosmopolitan chickens and paradoxes in the Anthropocene

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On September 14th our PhD candidate Karin Lillevold participated in a panel conversation about The Cosmopolitan Chicken Project by artist Koen Vanmechelen at the University Museum in Bergen. This conversation brought together Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen, paleontology professor Hanneke Meijer, and anthropologist Karin Lillevold from the University of Bergen. The conversation was moderated by Gitte Sætre, debate editor at Kunsthall 3,14, where the exhibition (and live chickens!) are on view until December this year. In Continue reading Panel conversation on cosmopolitan chickens and paradoxes in the Anthropocene→

Seminar at the Norwegian Fisheries Museum

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Last week, Gardening the Globe co-organized a seminar with fellow research council project Maritime Modernities and the Norwegian Fisheries Museum in Bergen. The title of the seminar was “Formats and Materializations: The Ocean as an Object of Knowledge”, and we spent a wonderful day at the Fisheries Museum presenting our research on representations of the ocean and those living there. Both Gardening the Globe and Maritime modernities are historically oriented projects, although with different theoretical Continue reading Seminar at the Norwegian Fisheries Museum→

WP3 start up: Cultivating Eradication

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Project members at the department of history of science and ideas

Last week, members and associates of Gardening the Globe gathered for a workshop at Uppsala University. The workshop signaled the start up of work package 3 of the project, which is called “Cultivating eradication”. In “Cultivating eradication”, we explore how socio-natures are produced through practices of removal or eradication of organisms and species. Through a set of different case studies, we investigate how species in the wrong place and in wrong numbers are often eradicated Continue reading WP3 start up: Cultivating Eradication→

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Photographic winter gaze on the muskox

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Karin is up at Dovrefjell again for a short winter visit to see how photographers hunt for the best shots of the muskox in winter conditions. Conditions are often harsh, with 20 m/s wind and snow on our first day, and -10 and clear sky with slight wind the other. Us humans need put a lot of gear on to deal with the conditions, while the muskox manages well with their thick wool. Muskox and Continue reading Photographic winter gaze on the muskox→

Breathe in, breathe out – and publish

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Project member Henrik Hovland Svensen participates in two recently published books: The beautiful art book Verdens navle  was launched on October 15, 2023, with literary readings, a panel discussion and of course, champagne. The book centers around a sculpture collection by Laila Kongevold and Stefan Christiansen at Aukra Care Center on the island Gossen. Through photos by Geir Dokken, combined with poetry, essays and literary fiction, the artwork initiates discussions of care – for humans Continue reading Breathe in, breathe out – and publish→

Documentary in the making

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Gardening the Globe will disseminate some of the research results through a documentary. This documentary will focus on domestic gardens as micro-landscaping, and it will disseminate the research questions of Gardening the Globe by using Kyrre Kverndokk’s subproject as a case. A team from the production company Leidar is hired to produce the documentary, led by the experienced documentarist Tor Karlsen. The team started filming this summer and will continue filming the following year. Here Continue reading Documentary in the making→

Gardening the Globe goes gardening

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In our project we use gardening both as an analytic metaphor and in a concrete way. Kyrre Kverndokk is studying gardening in Norway through the 20th and early 21st century as a lens for understanding cultural notions of landscaping and cultivation of nature. He explores how vernacular gardening brings together species and geo-masses from around the world, and how gardens are arenas for aesthetic modeling of landscapes and micro-ecosystems by separating cultivated nature from uncontrollable Continue reading Gardening the Globe goes gardening→

Fieldwork has started …

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… and here is the first field report from our PhD candidate Karin Lillevold: Greetings from the mountains in Dovrefjell! I have now been in the field for a few weeks, and experienced a lot already. I am based at the Wild Reindeer Centre and have followed the national park managers and others as they plan and discuss the management of the national park, how to raise awareness of the threatened wild reindeer, and how Continue reading Fieldwork has started …→